Warm Cuddles
by xTheoria
Summary: Nami stays up to watch the first snowfall but things turn out differently than she might have imagined. Originally posted on tumblr.


Zoro looked up when he heard the hatch of the crow's nest open. Brook's head appeared in the opening, followed by his body as he heaved himself into the room.

"Oh my…" he started when he looked at Zoro, "these youths nowadays. Always wearing next to nothing. My skin would be blue from the cold, if only I had skin…" he trailed off, seeing Zoro's expression.

"The hell you talking about, skeleton? You know what? Never mind, just take over the shift and we'll be good."

Brook watched amused as the grumpy swordsman took his swords and left the crow's nest to end his part of the night's watch.

Climbing down the rope ladder, Zoro inwardly cursed his friend and said friend's cryptic talk but halfway down, he had to admit that it was a really cold night and he definitely wasn't suited for this temperature.

~So, that's probably what Brook was talking about. We must be nearing a winter island, I guess~ he thought. Jumping down the last part to the lawn deck, Zoro was about to make his way to his bed when his eye caught sight of some kind of movement and a flash of orange, higher up on the foredeck.

Looking up, he could make out Nami, sitting with her backside against the railing, her head turned up to the sky. Her hands were wrapped around herself, rubbing her naked upper arms.

"Damn that woman!" Zoro cursed under his breath. Now Brooks jabbering about youths and no cloths made totally sense to him. Nami was only wearing a short sleeved shirt and her pair of jeans even though the temperature must be near freezing.

Making his way up to where Nami was sitting Zoro called out to her: "Oi, woman! What the hell you doing, sitting here half-naked in the middle of the night? What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Nami bit back. "I could ask you that. You don't just go around, insulting people for no reason at all and sticking your nose into things that are none of your business!"

"Geez, fine. Whatever." Zoro turned around and left without so much as a second look.

Nami bit her bottom lip. She somehow regretted being so harsh to Zoro but that guy always managed to get under her skin. She sighed as she heard a door snap shut.

When she was just second guessing her reasons for being out here, in the middle of the night, she heard the sound of a door closing for a second time.

Suddenly, Zoro appeared again, throwing a blanket in her lap. "Here" he mumbled, not looking into her face. He had changed clothes as well, wearing his long blue winter coat. She hadn't seen him wear that in a long time.

"Thanks" she whispered back, pulling the blanket around her body.

"So, are you going to tell me what you are doing here or what?" Zoro wanted to know.

"See that?" she asked. One arm appearing from under the blanket and pointing up at the sky.

"No. No I definitely don't see that" Zoro growled. "The sky is covered with thick clouds, so you have to be more precise than that!"

Ignoring his tone, Nami chuckled. "Exactly. I'm convinced that these clouds are going to bring snow every moment now." She explained, taking her arm down to cover it up again. It didn't go unnoticed by Zoro that she still seemed to be shaking, even though the blanket was wrapped around her tightly.

"Oh yes, I see. So we are going to wait here, in the middle of the night, freezing our asses of, just to find out if your forecast is correct. Great plan, I have to say, really." Zoro's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"No, we are not going to do that" Nami spat out. Calmer she said: "As a child, I always loved to see it snow. Seeing the first snowflakes falling down, starting to paint everything in white… Then my sister and I used to go outside and we danced together in the snow, never taking the time to put on a jacket."

In the dark, Zoro could make out Nami closing her eyes, a small melancholic smile on her lips. "Our mother would scold us afterwards and double our chores around the house for two days but… the next year, Nojiko and I would do it all over again."

She opened her eyes, smile still playing around the corners of her mouth. When she looked at Zoro, he silently thanked a god he didn't believe in that it was the middle of the night because right at that moment, he blushed. Hard.

"By the way" Nami continued, her smile turning into a mischievous grin. "WE are going to wait for the snow? Does this mean you're going to join me?"

Feeling as if he was caught doing something without permission, Zoro crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You wish, witch."

Nami laughed. "Don't worry, I won't make you. I'm totally fine here on my own." Zoro would have believed her, if the chattering of her teeth wouldn't have told him otherwise.

He took a deep breath before sitting down next to Nami. He held up his left arm, motioning for her to scoot over and share his body heat.

Nami hesitated for only a second. She took the blanket of her shoulders and moved closer to Zoro who laid his arm around her while Nami covered them both with the blanket before she snuggled even closer to him.

Nami sighed, feeling instantly warmer. They sat like sat, silently for a while, her head cushioned against his shoulder, until Nami's breath evened out when she dozed off. Zoro smiled down at her and held her closer before leaning his head back to keep an eye on the sky.

He felt warm. He didn't notice it at first but he had obviously been freezing, too. Otherwise he wouldn't feel the difference now, right? Or was it not just simply their combined body heat under the blanket that warmed him up?

Zoro could feel his heart speed up. He chuckled softly to himself but the little vibration in his chest caused Nami to stir in his arm.

"What's so funny" she asked, raising her sleepy head. "Nothing" Zoro answered too fast and then" Look, Nami. Your prediction was true after all!"

Nami followed his gaze up to the sky and really, the first soft and thick snowflakes began their silent descent from the sky. Nami couldn't tear her eyes away. While she watched the spectacle like a little child, Zoro's eye never left her face. She jumped a bit when a cold flake landed on her right cheek.

"It's beautiful" she breathed, her gaze never once straying from the sky. Zoro watched her silently for a while before he answered. "Yeah, it really is."

At that moment, he wasn't sure if he meant the snowfall or the woman by his side. He decided that he would ponder about these new and strange but not unwanted thoughts and feelings after a good nap in the morning.

"You had your snowflakes, woman. We should head back in I'd say." Nami didn't answer at first. She snuggled right back into his side and laid her head onto his shoulder once more.

"Just a little while longer. It's so lovely here" was all she said. Zoro didn't know what to make out of that but since Nami made no move to change their position even the slightest bit he decided he could just enjoy it as long as it would last.

They watched in silence as the snowflakes danced in the sky. The cold air and the flakes chilled their faces but cuddled up in the warmth they shared, they couldn't care less.


End file.
